Policy

The reasons are pretty clear: most tenants are on short term contracts – not knowing if you’ll have to move in the next year makes it difficult to feel at home or part of the local community – and it’s especially difficult for the two million children living like this. The condition of private rented properties is more likely to be poor or dangerous to health. And the cost is enormous – 39% of private renters told ComRes in 2014 that they have had to cut down on heating because of the cost of rent and a third are cutting back on food.

The growth of private renting and the wider housing crisis is already penetrating the political debate. The current government wants to turn generation rent into generation buy. The Mayor of London was elected after calling the election a referendum on London's housing crisis. More than half of the population knows someone who is struggling to afford to rent or buy a suitable home and 38% would vote for a party that made housing a top three priority.